Nioh 3 demands precision, endurance, and adaptability from its players, but even the most skilled warriors can find themselves stymied by a fundamental constraint: skill capacity. The game’s three skill trees—general, samurai, and ninja—each operate independently, and without expansion, players are forced to choose between specialization and versatility. Fortunately, increasing capacity isn’t just about brute-force exploration; it’s a puzzle of discovery, trading, and strategic completion of side activities.
The solution lies in two key items: Texts and Memorandums. Texts are straightforward—each grants a single point of capacity in its respective category and can be found in chests scattered across the world. Memorandums, however, require a bit more effort: four of the same type must be collected before they unlock an additional point. The challenge isn’t just locating these items but efficiently leveraging them to maximize growth without wasting resources.
Where to Find Capacity-Boosting Items
Early-game players can start by hunting for Texts, which are often tucked away in overlooked chests or tied to minor objectives. For example
- A Warrior’s Text sits in a small chest near the friendly camp north of Hamamatsu Gate in the Tenryu River region.
- A Samurai’s Text is hidden in the Hamamatsu Castle Crucible, near a lava river where three red spirits guard its location.
- A Ninja’s Text can be found in a corpse at the top of a ravine in Futamata Castle, accessible after navigating a rolling boulder obstacle.
Memorandums, meanwhile, are earned through exploration milestones. Completing all side activities—such as Lesser Crucibles, Kodama hunts, and regional challenges—in Tenryu River, Tokaido, and Hamamatsu unlocks a Ninja’s Memorandum, Samurai’s Memorandum, and Warrior’s Memorandum, respectively. Alternatively, players can purchase memorandums in bulk from Sudama merchants, though this requires farming Yokai Teardrops from Kappa enemies.
A Strategic Approach to Expansion
While the game’s design encourages gradual progression, players who prioritize efficiency can accelerate their capacity gains. For instance
- Focus on exploration milestones in each region, as they provide a guaranteed return on investment—four memorandums per milestone, rather than the randomness of chest hunts.
- Trade with Sudama for bulk memorandums if Yokai Teardrops are plentiful, but weigh the cost against the time spent farming them.
- Track Text locations using in-game maps or external guides to avoid redundant searches, especially in later stages where chests become sparser.
The incremental nature of these upgrades—just one point per Text, four memorandums per capacity increase—means patience is key. Yet for those willing to engage with the game’s side content, the rewards extend beyond raw power: deeper lore, hidden treasures, and a more flexible build tailored to their playstyle.
Nioh 3’s skill system isn’t just about unlocking new abilities; it’s about unlocking new ways to approach the game itself. Whether through methodical exploration or strategic trading, every point of capacity earned is a step toward mastering the game’s depth—and its demons.
